11 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because Of Your High Functioning Anxiety

Anxiety can be very harmful and it’s not something to be overlooked. The worst problem is that a lot of people can’t understand the effects it can have on a person and find anxious people as being lazy, irresponsible and passive.

If you are not an anxious person, knowing this can help you understand anxiety a bit better. If you are, we are sure you are going to agree with these things.

1. Decline invites although you may want to go

Again, it’s difficult for those who have never experienced anxiety to understand, but often times people who are suffering from anxiety cannot bring themselves to be social—or even to go out into society—even though they’d like to go out and have a good time very much. This is partly because the individual feels as though they’ll make the experiences less fun for everyone else there.

2. Obsess over trivial things other people may not even notice

A simple word or an unintended glance from someone is enough for your head to start processing and rewinding the situation even for days! The truth is you obsess over everything that has happened recently or a week ago, or any time ago, really.

You may obsess over a conversation you had, or the fact that someone hasn’t texted you yet (after a whole 12 hour period) or really just over the fact that some stranger looked at you as if they knew you.

Whatever the case may be, many would get confused by the notion that you even notice such things.

3. Go to bed late, wake up early in the morning

One of the biggest issues for you is certainly sleeping. Of all the processing in your head after the day, you find it hard to go to bed on time.

When early morning comes, your anxiety clock starts ticking again and ringing several alarms to get things going – even though you are tired. When your anxiety has switched on (by waking up), you can’t do anything to switch it off, so you don’t go back to bed.

4. In every situation, the worst scenario is your biggest thought

Regardless of how positive a situation or a set of circumstances may be, humans suffering from anxiety often can’t help but to imagine all the ways that it could rapidly turn negative. In fact, sometimes the focus becomes so vivid and constant that physical illness ensues.

5. You rewind conversations in your head – over and over again

No matter how well a conversation went with somebody, you always replay that conversation in your head fearing that you may have said something wrong. That’s why you try to avoid confrontation at all cost.

This constant rewinding seems to be able to haunt you until it starts chipping a hole from the inside. You always have to remind yourself that it’s your anxiety talking and that there is most certainly nothing wrong with what you have said in the first place.

6. When someone shows concern about you, you become even more worried about the same thing

If someone notices that you are not OK and shows concern, your anxiety grows even more. The thing is, when you hear someone asking if you are alright, it makes you fear even more for yourself and your state.

You think – if it has become noticeable, then there has to be more to it than I thought. This makes you feel worse than you did.

7. You believe that you are to blame if someone doesn’t reply right away

Whenever someone doesn’t do what they said they would or whenever something they’re involved in doesn’t work out well, a person suffering from anxiety will usually assume that they are at fault even if they had nothing to do with the failure at all.

8. You are experiencing a breakdown when the future comes as a topic

For people who feel anxiety, it can seem like all of their peers are more successful than them in life and as human beings in general. It’s extremely difficult not to give up when this line of thinking persists.

9. You always compare your success to others who are your age

Although you may not want to compare yourself to others, your anxiety makes you scour through Facebook and stay up to date with all the successful things your peers have done.

Your worries are not that they have managed to succeed, but if you are ever going to succeed in your life like they have.

10. You obsess too much over every mistake you make by beating yourself up over it

The worst scenario is making a mistake at work. The thoughts that will consume you afterwards are tremendously difficult to handle.

Although you strive to perfect whatever you are doing, mistakes can occur, which is natural. Unfortunately, your anxiety doesn’t know that. In such cases, it becomes your worst enemy.

11. Sometimes, you feel too mentally and physically exhausted to get out of bed

Sometimes people suffering from anxiety are so mentally overwhelmed that they need to sleep immediately—or to continue to sleep for hours—even though their physical bodies are 100% rested and fit.